This invention relates to a refrigerating counter, particularly for continuous cooling of bottles and cans, preferably containing beverages, comprising cooling apparatus and cold air supply to said bottles, cans, etc. to be cooled.
The cold air supply may be based on natural and/or forced supply, and the same applies to the removal of warmer air which has accepted heat from the bottles, etc. and which, in a first removal step, is superseded by the supplied cold air. In forced supply/removal, usually fans are used. Natural movement of air presupposes that hot air rises, while cold air will sink. These principles are well known and in general use in i.a. refrigerating counters.
One conventional refrigerating counter design which constructively and functionally has been built up with a view to cool especially beverages in bottles and cans, is represented by cupboard-like refrigerating counters having front glass door(s) and rearwardly positioned shelves, the socalled cupboard or cabinet coolers. Here, bottles and/or cans are arranged in an upright position on horizontal shelves, offered for sale.
A problem of these cabinet coolers for beverages in bottles and/or cans is that the act of opening the cabinet door represents a psychological "barrier" for a possible buyer of cold beverage. Another problem is that the cabinet/shelf arrangement invites the purchaser to take the bottle/can standing closest to the opened cabinet door, and which often is the one placed into the cabinet last and which, consequently, is not cooled or only insufficiently cooled. This causes that the oldest and, thus, coldest bottle/can, will be left untouched hindmost in the cabinet. Other customers will be liable to rummage within the cabinet and to overturn bottles and/or cans while trying to find a bottle/can which is cold. Often, the attendants are brought upon extra work, displacing cold bottles from the inner shelf portions and placing them foremost.